[Dylan16807]

> infinite, or at least highly dependent on the thickness of the rope

The latter. But that's only if it's not somewhat taut. Some tension brings it closer to a circle and makes the actual thickness pretty unimportant.

But I like the idea overall. It means that lifting up the string makes it smoother and it actually needs less length. How's that for being unintuitive?

[kurthr]

Exactly, if you're only 1cm off the surface you follow every nook and cranny. If you're 10km off the surface only Everest is a blip.